Ever since his father took him to a golf course and placed his first golf club in his hands seven years ago, sophomore David Holeman has been hitting the green. On that fateful day, Holeman was introduced to a few coaches and his passion for golfing was ignited.

He currently plays for Crescenta Valley High School’s golf team. “One of the benefits about golfing is you meet so many new people,” Holeman said, “and it’s because of golf that I’ve made so many friends.”

Golfing isn’t just a hobby or a way to spend his seventh period. By entering tournaments, he gets the full experience of the game and can take his skills to the next level. Holeman mostly plays on a team and competes in league matches among five other teams.

The California Interscholastic Federation hosts these matches and provides young athletes with opportunities to earn scholarships. The top two teams are chosen as the winners. “We usually get second place and it does bother me sometimes because I know I could’ve done better in the game,” Holeman said. The young golfer doesn’t stay upset for long, however, because his team still ends up winning, even as second place.

Winning tournaments is one thing, but balancing sports with school is a whole other matter. So far Holeman has been effectively keeping up his grades and staying on top of his game all at the same time, though it is expected to get more difficult to do so once he gets to senior year.

“I want to keep playing golf as I get older,” Holeman said. “I don’t see why I should stop just because school is going to get harder.” To Holeman, the sport is a successful stress reliever. It’s easier to blow off some of the steam from school since he leaves right after sixth period to get on the golf course.

Golf has become a more active sport in Clark with every year that fresh faces enroll into the school. “There’s no denying that having more people play golf is awesome, but sometimes it’s not for everyone, “ Holeman said. “You need to have so much patience and practice to effectively get the ball into holes with as few strokes as possible.”